DRIFT Travel Summer 2017

efore us huge and ghostly - and
then a sphinx and an eagle in static
flight. Your imagination runs
wild as this enchanted garden of
sand and limestone, with giant
mushrooms and fantastical stone
creatures, slowly reveals itself for
over 3,000 square kilometers. This
is the White Desert, a playground
for the mind. Khaled and Ali
have been here countless times,
but say every time is like the first.
Ali stops the vehicle and we get
out and walk slowly amongst the
astounding natural creations that
resemble plants and animals, but
have stood there for all time. It’s
perfectly silent as the afternoon
light dusts the desert in pastel
pinks and blues. We set up camp
for the night on the soft sand
floor, with little need to speak.
It seems intrusive in such quiet.
The landscape is so surreal, so
breathtakingly beautiful, you
want to focus on soaking it into
your soul so you don’t forget
such places still exist on earth.
Then the moon rises,
washing the White Desert
in pure enchantment.
We lie on our backs in the
cushioning sand alongside
the dancing fire, and stare
heavenwards as a million bright
stars pierce the night sky with
light. “Every time I come here, I
fall in love,” says Khaled softly,
“and just wait for the purple
sunrise in the morning. It looks
like you are on another planet.
That’s why I keep coming back,
the light here is natural magic”
And then there is quiet as we fall
asleep in the desert’s million-star
hotel, without need for a bed.
60 . DRIFTTRAVEL.COM